March 19, 2010 10:30 PM UTC

Note To Hickenlooper: You're Not Running For Mayor Anymore

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• by: Colorado Pols

Democrats around the state are scratching their heads over recent statements by gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper, reported in the Denver Post today:

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper told a business group Thursday that it’s “crazy” to raise fees or taxes when revenues are down, or for Colorado to be known as an anti-business state.

At the same time, Hickenlooper, who is running for governor, said Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration sided with “overboard” environmentalists in crafting new oil and gas regulations.

The remarks to the South Metro Chamber of Commerce provided a clue about how a Hickenlooper administration might be different from Ritter’s, although both men are Democrats…

He also said that “raising taxes piecemeal” does not win the support of the business community, which is vital to the success of any government.

Hickenlooper said that when he became mayor in 2003, he worked with Republican Bill Owens, then governor, to “rebrand the state as business-friendly.”

“Now we’re getting a brand that’s anti-business. That’s crazy,” he said.

The tax-credit questions were expected, but the oil-and-gas comments came at the end of his lengthy response to a question about why a such a pro-business person would be a Democrat.

Folks, we’ve defended Hickenlooper’s off-reservation comments about climate change and some other topics several times now since he announced his candidacy–deservedly, we think, in context, and in proper contrast against the stated views of his likely Republican opponent.

This is different: not only did the normally mild Hickenlooper use harsh and pejorative language to describe a key Democratic ally, he disparaged the recent suspension of a few tax credits in unusually caustic terms–only days after promising not to ‘interfere’ with the process during the legislative session. It seems to be a grudging admission in some circles, but your gut is correctly telling you that these were really stupid things for Hickenlooper to do. It’s time to say so.

We recognize that there are generally considered to be political benefits in triangulating against a constituency you’re confident is going to support you regardless. The problem we see here is twofold: the negative impact this self-serving disparagement has on other Democratic candidates and the brand as a whole, and the demotivating effect Hickenlooper dissing the environmental community could have on independent expenditures–not just for Hickenlooper, but for Democrats up and down the ballot. Hickenlooper needs to understand, and quickly, that he’s not running for Mayor anymore, and that his statements from the top of the ticket reflect on more than just himself.